This occurs occasionally when I brake. I have my foot softly on the brake and the brakes cut out. The car feels like it accelerates/surges forward rather than slowing down. I need to apply the brakes hard to then stop the vehicle. I never know when it will happen. When it occurs and a car is in front of me, I have had near miss accidents. The issue seems to be worse on bumpy roads or downhill road when I tried to hit break to slow down or stop the car. I brought the car into dealer on 5/17 which they connected with diagnostic tool. However it showed everything is normal. The service agent told me there is one case just reported few days ago with same issue. Toyota sent expert to dealer to investigate the issue so I need to come back on same day for further investigation.

- Cornelius, OR, USA

While parking, the shifter was inadvertently left in reverse. The engine was turned off while foot was still on the brake. After preparing to exit the car and removing my foot from the brake, the car began rolling forward until I noticed and slammed on the foot brake. We are used to the vehicle parking brake engaging automatically as there is no way to do so manually, that we know of. There was no warning that the shifter was not in park and no audible or noticeable visual notification that the vehicle was not in park. In some cases, on a flat surface when the vehicle wasn't in park, it didn't allow me to shut off or arm the security system. In this case, I was able to stop the vehicle and fortunately there was nothing in front of the vehicle. Since the vehicle was powered off, anti-collision likely would not have stopped a collision.

- Sunnyvale, CA, USA

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request" Braking system How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Vehicle braking is unpredictable. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? We can not get the issue to be reproduced, braking variables seem random Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Inspected by Toyota Dealership Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear" No warning lights or computer codes go off Assessment of the incident: When applying the brakes to stop or slow, the brakes will slip for a second then re-engage. This can happen when coming to a slow stop or an abrupt stop. The exact parameters to cause this issue are unknown at this time and is unpredictable. My dealership is aware and has documented the issue but has been unable to reproduce the issue. Never experienced this before with other Toyota hybrids I have owned.

- Baton Rouge, LA, USA

my car experiences intermittent acceleration when applying the breaks. It lunges forward for some reason. It has also not stopped when hitting the breaks hard but lunges as well. I am using the last date that this happened.

- San Jose, CA, USA

Warning lights appeared while driving on city streets.

- Providence, RI, USA

Brakes temporarily fail at low speed when regenative brakes switch to hydraulic brakes.

- Temple Terrace , FL, USA

This occurs occasionally when I brake. I have my foot softly on the brake and the brakes cut out. The car feels like it accelerates/surges forward rather than slowing down. I need to apply the brakes hard to then stop the vehicle. I never know when it will happen. When it occurs and a car is in front of me, I have had near miss accidents. I often transport my grandchildren to daycare so I'm not only concerned with my safety, but my passengers as well. I have shared with my dealer and have called to report this to the Toyota corporate office. My dealer has noted this problem on my scheduled service invoice. They have inspected and recalibrated the brakes, but it is still happening. The dealer has checked each service appointment for any recall or notification from Toyota. I have researched online and know there are other Toyota Highlander Hybrid owners who are experiencing this same malfunction. When I called the Toyota national number, they indicated they would give my situation a case number. No one from Toyota has admitted there is a problem, but from my online research many owners have reported this problem. I would assume there are owners that have not reported it. It's truly a safety issue. I love everything else about the vehicle and hope by submitting this malfunction, it will lead to a recall and repair.

- Colchester, CT, USA

Upon starting my 2021 Highlander Platinum with 10,700 miles on it several warning lights repeatedly came across my display including reduced engine power, brake system malfunction, pre collision system malfunction. See your dealer. No codes showed up on their scan but every time they cleared the screen the messages came back. They decided it was a bad knock sensor. Then I received a call that a critter had chewed wires and they might find further damage. I was surprised because I-??ve been in my house for 45 years and I-??ve never had a critter in my garage. The service manager said -??Toyotas attract critters because of the covering they use on the wires.-?? I said, -??Soy"-?? And he said, -??Yes-??. So, isn-??t this a manufacturing defect? How many times a year is this going to happen" I-??ve owned Toyotas for 27 years. I-??ve never had a problem until this car. I-??m also having problems with the navigation system, 2 visits to the dealership and 45 minutes on the phone with the Toyota Engagement Center.

- Portage, MI, USA

I have noticed that if I hit a bump in the road while braking, the brakes release momentarily and I have to press harder to continue braking. I have confirmed that this happens consistently, and is more likely to happen when I am braking slowly (i.e. I'm not pushing very hard on the brake pedal, just slowing the car gradually). This indicates that it's the regenerative brakes that are disengaging when I hit a bump or pothole. It has happened 20+ times and continues to happen consistently under these circumstances.

- Cambridge, MA, USA

We have owned our 2021 hybrid awd platinum highlander for 8 months and within the past two months (around 16k miles) it has started to do an acceleration upon applying the brake. The car does catch itself and then after hitting the brake harder it does stop. This has happen on 7 different occasions, flat roads, hills, parking spots now. It has happened while my husband drives it and myself. It was brought it for computer recalls around the same time that this issue started. After the recalls were fixed I brought it back in and left it with the dealer for a few days. They cannot replicate it and therefor won-??t do anything. They tried to tell me that I can-??t drive with two feet-??. Which I don-??t. I-??ve seen other reports where Toyota claims it-??s inexperienced regenerative braking driving. We have owned a 2011 Prius that we had for 6 years and it never did it once. We also had a 2021 Audi e-from which fully relies on regenerative braking. We are not novice when it comes to hybrid driving systems. It has come to the point where I-??d like to sell the car and get something else rather than worry about a car crash with my babies in the car. I also owned a 2019 awd regular gas highlander that never had any braking issues. So I don-??t know what the solution is, but this is a very expensive car to be having these kinds of issues.

- Shingle Springs , CA, USA

I bought this car in March 2021 to haul my 1st grandchild around. I noticed early on their was something weird happening when I braked, but it occurred randomly, so I thought maybe it's a hybrid thing (or even my imagination). I was the sole driver of the car 99.9% of the time. It gradually got worse over the first 12 months. My husband would occasional drive us to town, but never experienced it, until he did. Scared and concerned for my safety, he didn't want me to drive it anymore. The brakes literally fail when you least expect it causing you to turn too fast, it catapults you forward and you have no control of the vehicle for several seconds. We have had numerous near accidents. I took it to the dealership and they said they fixed the problem with a computer update. I picked it up on a Friday around closing time and got halfway home when I decided I needed Starbucks. Turning into the drive thru I nearly rear-ended a DPS car! GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK! I called the dealership that Monday morning and they said it fixed, but I could bring it back in. Took it back and they basically handed the keys to me and said there's nothing wrong. I told them it's dangerous and when my luck runs out and I have an accident, then what"? Who will be responsible"! No one is allowed to drive my car. My mom, my sister, not even my 21 year old who could drive a NASCAR. It is extremely dangerous and will eventually get someone hurt or dead. I told them I refuse to pick the car up until they figure this out. Gullo Toyota in Conroe, where I bought the car, said my keys are ready when I am. I am contacting a lawyer and filing a complaint here.

- Crockett, TX, USA

Vehicle was driving at highway speed, transitioning to off ramp. Warning lights came on stating Braking Power low. Brakes proceeded to fail. Stepping on brakes did nothing but initiate a stuttering response. Vehicle would not slow down. Rolled into dealership that was luckily.5 miles away. It was diagnosed to be a wheel speed sensor. A sensor failing should not cause a vehicle to be unable to brake. Shocked and traumatized over the incident.

- Irwin, PA, USA

When braking approaching a stop light or braking while having curved into a designated turn lane the car lurches forward even though the brake peddle is properly engaged. This causes one to react by pressing harder on the brake pedal and the brakes thankfully stop the surge. I could describe it as an acceleration during the middle of braking. This could easily cause me to hit the car in front of me, a pedestrian or fail to stop at the stop sign or stop light. This is very dangerous. The dealership has been unable to reproduce the problem. It has occurred 3 times in 10 weeks (as I just purchased the vehicle). There were no warning lamps or messages prior to all three incidents. I input the most recent date that it occurred even though the dealership was unable to see the third incident on their computer readout. They did find the prior 2 incidents IN ADDITION to one in 2020 prior to my owning the vehicle. I have noticed on an internet forum others have experienced the same issue. One case has this number associated with NHTSA 220314000811. PLEASE help!!!

- Punta Gorda, FL, USA

When slowing down, It doesn-??t happen all the time, but it-??s as if the brakes disengage and the car feels like it is accelerating. After a second or two it will engage after I applied a lot harder because I-??m freaking out because it feels like I have complete brake failure. I took the vehicle to Toyota and they told me it is normal to experience this because the breaking system is switching between the electric motors and the break calipers. I have been driving for over 40 years and there is NOTHING normal about this! I have gone into intersections at stop signs and almost rear ended vehicles in front of me as a result of this. Just because Toyota has a problem that they acknowledge, but claim that it isn't a problem, doesn't make it right and it is downright dangerous. This issue has been present since purchasing the vehicle.

- Irvine, CA, USA

On May 24th I was driving back to work form my lunch break, had to make an additional stop before going back and in the moment I was to make a right suddenly the car would not stop or turn, no light were on at the moment, now the car is a total loss and I went trough the scariest time of my life after running into mangroves

- Key West, FL, USA

The Highlander Hybrid is dangerous and someone will get hurt. The brakes will occasionally, at lower speeds and under a variety of circumstances, stop working for a second or two. It actually gives the feeling that the car is accelerating or surging forward. My dealer was able to replicate the problem but said they hadn't heard of a fix yet. They had heard of this issue from several customers. Toyota maintains it is normal operation and is simply the hybrid switching from regenerative braking to mechanical braking. It is completely unpredictable. Sometimes it will go a week without happening. Sometimes it will happen several times in 1 day. My wife and I do not feel safe in this car. Very frustrating that Toyota doesn't seem to take this seriously. It's simply a matter of time before we rear end someone, or hit something else.

- Mitchell , IN, USA

At only 12,000 miles there is significant vibrating and shuddering when applying brakes. I was told after an inspection that it is the rotors.

- Montague , CA, USA

Regarding brakes: There is an inconsistent involuntary brake pressure release occurring when slowing down via braking where the brakes let loose for about a second before applying again. This occurs with no change in pressure applied to the brake pedal. This is a dangerous situation, especially if in emergency braking situation. This has occurred multiple times over the 16k miles that it's been driven, but more recently. There is no consistency on the speeds it occurs at either. Regarding fuel: We are unable to fill fuel tank completely due to poor venting in gas tank, which could lead to spilled gas similar to overfill, causing a hazard. This vehicle has a 17.1 gallon fuel tank but we are only able to get 12-13 gallons upon fill-up at empty. Both of these issues have been reported to our local Toyota dealership, with no resolution.

- Brentwood, TN, USA

I am noticing a little "gap" in the brakes when I am slowing down in traffic and going down hill. It is as if the brakes let up for just a second the car surges slightly as if I had taken my foot off the brake, the brakes loss the power and I have to press on it harder to stop the car. It's a bit disconcerting! I've checked with the dealer, they confirmed the brake is fully function no issue.

- Nigara Fall, NY, USA

My new 2021 Toyota highlander hybrid having random issues when braking, I noticed most of the time when the car is going downhill, the car will lose braking for a second and I have to depress the brake harder to slow the vehicle. In that second when it loses the brake the car is actually going forward, which can cause unpredictable stopping distance, it can accident if I follow too close. There is no warning light show in the dashboard, the problem is not able to reproduce. It can happen randomly.

- Buffalo, NY, USA